Vitamins and Minerals

We could spend an entire semester talking about each Vitamin and their effects on the body.

Click Here for a link to Vitamins and the body functions

Low on energy, perhaps you need one of the B vitamins more in your diet... Click Here for an article on Vitamin B and energy levels 

Need to boost your immune system, try adding more Vitamin C (especially if you don't have enough in your diet)... Click Here for an article on the immune system and Vitamin C

Minerals are just as important as Vitamins.  We could spend an entire semester talking each of the ones that your body needs to function...

Click Here for a list of Minerals that your body needs to function

For those thinking about building bone (and preventing osteoporosis), you need a mineral (calcium) and a Vitamin (D) to do so: https://www.nof.org/patients/treatment/calciumvitamin-d/

And again, if you always feel tired, you may want to make an appointment to talk with your doctor about the amount of iron in your blood: http://www.healthline.com/health/iron-deficiency-anemia#Overview1 (*****ALWAYS have a blood test done to look at iron levels before you decide to supplement with iron)

Notice that as you go through the list of both Vitamins and Minerals and you look at their functions... all of them seem to be quite important and their functions seem vital for your body to work well.

One area that Vitamins and Minerals work to protect your body deals with Free Radicals: http://www.livescience.com/54901-free-radicals.html.  These molecules act as ANTIOXIDANTS to protect against Free Radical damage: http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/vitamins-minerals-antioxidants-5006.html

One item that this tutorial discusses are antioxidants, which are considered to be Phytochemicals ("Glossary").  For a very good article from the Stanford University on Phytochemicals, please go to this link: https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-clinics/cancer-nutrition-services/reducing-cancer-risk/phytochemicals.html 

One final note.  Many of you reading this may take or have taken some type of vitamin/mineral supplement (in pill form... the kid versions taste great!).  However, getting your nutrients from food provides you with more benefit for your body as opposed to taking a pill.  Click Here for more information on Food vs Supplements